The Art of Computer Programming

Matt Barton, The Fine Art of Computer Programming, Free Software and the Future of Literate Programming:

“When software became merchandise, the opportunity vanished of teaching software development as a craft and as artistry” (Richard P. Gabriel and Ron Goldman)

Barton mentions Pope, essayist and poet, as a model. Code should be read like poetry. "It is perhaps time to elect a new Pope. To my mind, there is only one man of sufficient merit and tenacity to warrant such an honor: Donald E. Knuth. I nominate Knuth because of the development of what he terms literate programming, ..."

"The truth, according to Knuth, is that programming is “both a science and an art, and that the two aspects nicely complement each other”

From Literate Programming, Patrick TJ McPhee: "The second important idea is the view of program writing as a special type of literary work with its stress on the readers, as opposite to the stress on computers many programmers have."

Stan Kelly-Bootle, Ode or Code: "Dijkstra’s oft-quoted advice was, “Besides a mathematical inclination, an exceptionally good mastery of one’s native tongue is the most vital asset of a competent programmer.”" (Stan being an excellent example of brilliant mastery of English language)